China, Switzerland to accelerate bilateral Free Trade Agreement negotiations

China and Switzerland have reiterated their willingness to accelerate negotiations on upgrading their bilateral Free Trade Agreement, said Swiss Federal Councillor and Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis on Thursday.

"We are determined to finish it as soon as possible, because our agreement works very well," Cassis told reporters in Beijing after a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. The negotiation started in October last year.

In 2013, Switzerland became the first European nation to sign a FTA with China. The move nearly doubled the number of Swiss exports to China and increased the Chinese imports by almost 60 percent, according to Cassis.

Twelve years later, many things have changed, he said, adding that new areas, such as artificial intelligence and digitalization, will be added to the renewed agreement.

Just like the applications in smartphones need to be upgraded, the agreement needs regular upgrading and modernizing, he said.

China is Switzerland's top economic partner in Asia. In 1965, Swiss technology company ABB signed their first license agreement with China, and in 1980, Schindler set up the first foreign industrial joint venture here, Cassis noted.

Being a gigantic market and a small market with only 9 million people, China and Switzerland are able to communicate and advance their relations with ongoing commercial ties, he said.

China is an important trade, diplomatic and scientific partner for Switzerland, he added.